In November, CoSIDA has partnered with Chris Syme from the
CKSyme Media Group and Kristi Dosh, Esq.,of
Reputation Ink on this "Social Media Best Practices In College Athletics Survey." This survey was exclusive to CoSIDA members. All participants received a link to a free video on social media training for coaches and student-athletes.
Find part one of the survey analysis and takeaways below; the second part of the results and takeaways will be published on Dec. 5.
The survey takeaways will used in future continuing education webinars and presentations to CoSIDA members so they ca
n better understand the data and assist them in professional development opportunities.
Syme is a former college athletic communications professional whose strategic communications agency works closely with intercollege athletic organizations. In conjunction with CoSIDA staff, Syme coordinated and produced the 2012 CoSIDA social media education survey while she chaired the CoSIDA New Media/Technology Committee.
Dosh, Vice President of Reputation Ink, is an attorney, sports business analyst and published author and noted journalist (Forbes, ESPN.com). A year ago, she published a book on the buisness of college football,
Saturday Millionaires.
Both are in-demand for speaking engagements at colleges and universities throughout the U.S. on topics ranging from sports marketing to social media, crisis communications and professional development.
The survey results also will be published in Syme and Dosh's upcoming e-book on social media best practices and engagement.
CoSIDA 2014 Social Media Best Practices Survey Results: Part One
by Chris Syme and Kristi Dosh
Social media is no longer the new kid on the block. For many athletic departments, it permeates every operation of the department from internal communications to tickets to game operations to communications to public relations, marketing, and recruiting.
As social media often falls under the umbrella of athletics communicators, traditional sports information directors find themselves more integrated into the marketing and promotion operations of their department. As you will see by the results of this survey, the traditional jo
b description of the athletics communicator is changing. A whopping 87% of respondents reported having social media marketing and promotion duties in their departments.
In this first of two articles, we’ll examine the responses to the survey questions. In the second we will look at best practices from the data.
Demographics:
The largest group of respondents (29%) came from NCAA Division III schools. They were followed by DII (18%), BCS (14.5%), FCS (14%), NAIA (10%), and Non-BCS FBS schools (7.6%). Conference offices, 2-year institutions, and CIS schools made up six percent of the group. Almost half of the group listed their job title as Sports Information Director while Assistant SID made up 21% of the respondents. Associate or Assistant Athletic Directors made up 32% of the group while Social Media Directors and Website or Video Directors were around two percent each.
Among BCS respondents, 44% were SIDs while 22% were Associate Athletic Directors. In DIII and NAIA, 65% reported Sports Information Director as their title and four percent were Associate Athletic Directors.
Survey Highlights
The purpose of the survey was to gather benchmark data on the following: duties of CoSIDA members as they relate to social media marketing and promotion, how social media is used in crisis and public relations, social media policies, and department use and lines of responsibility. The survey was sponsored by CKSyme Media Group and Reputation Ink.
Social Media Use
How many social media channels are athletic departments using?
The largest percentage maintains four official channels. This number does not include individual sports programs or other specialty accounts such as tickets or mascot. Twitter was the most used channel followed closely by Facebook, YouTube or Vimeo, and Instagram, all above 80 %. The next two most used channels were Pinterest and Snapchat, each below 15%.
Only 11% of those official channels have a single admin, while 37% have four to six admins on the account. Only one percent of respondents indicated they did not know if their official accounts had multiple admins.
Some interesting answers emerged when respondents were asked to rate the importance to the department of each channel they used. While 31% rated Facebook as the most important channel, 65% rated Twitter as their most important social media channel. Instagram was rated number one by only one percent. The image-only channel was rated third or fourth in importance by respondents who use the channel. When asked which channel respondents desired the most help with, Instagram topped the list at 46%. Twitter, YouTube, and Snapchat followed.
When asked which office was primarily responsible for managing social media within the department, 75% answered communications. The marketing office accounted for only four percent of the primary management duties, and almost 15% reported a joint management effort between the two offices.
The last question in this section asked how many offices use students or interns to manage or post to department social media accounts. The results were almost evenly split: 51% said yes while 49% said no.
Policies and Procedures
In the 2012 CoSIDA membership survey on the state of crisis communications in athletic departments, less than 40% of schools reported having a department policy that regulated the use of social media. In 2014, that number has risen to only 43%. The majority of athletic departments still do not have a social media use policy. When asked if departments required registration of official social media accounts or training to use social media responsibly on behalf of the department, the answers revealed little progress from the 2012 numbers:
|
Question |
2012 |
2014 |
|
Require registration or training of social media accounts under department umbrella |
15% - yes |
20% require dept. accounts to be registered
15.5% require training |
|
Neither training or registration are required |
85% |
56% |
|
Require both |
-- |
7.5% |
Social Media Strategy
Only 64% of respondents said they have goals or strategy for using social media. Those that said yes were asked what goals were included in that strategy. Respondents could choose as many as applied.
Crisis Management and Public Relations
In 2012, just over half of college athletic departments had crisis communications policies, according to the CoSIDA membership survey. In 2014, that number has barely risen to almost 57%. In 2012, 48% of respondents had a policy for dealing with negative comments on social media channels. Now the number is 65%.
Only 31% of responding schools require social media training for student-athletes. In a 2013 CoSIDA survey, that number was 44%. Today, over 80% of schools that do train student-athletes are handling that training internally, and only 16% outsource their social media training. Of those schools that seek outside training agencies, the majority are DII, DIII, and NAIA schools.
In the next article, we’ll examine the takeaways from the survey data and take a look at some of the best social media campaigns and biggest flops as reported by the survey respondents.